Sex and Marriage
by Vain Ambitions
Summary: Ryoma had been in a relationship with Sakuno for seven years now, but Sakuno seemed to want something more than just a relationship.


**I have decided to break my hiatus with a one-shot! I love one-shots, they do not require too much commitment LOL so sorry to my other readers who are subscribed to my unfinished long fics :(**

**Anyway, I haven't been watching PoT for a long while, so the characters are probably going to be very very very out-of-character and I apologize for that. On a side note, this story takes place about 9 years after the series, so the out-of-character-ness shouldn't be too bad since a person's personality changes, you know? **

**Hehe, enjoy!**

**XxXxX**

Ryoma had been deprived of sex for five days. For some reason, Sakuno had been ignoring him and pushing away all his attempts to cuddle ever since she came back from her dinner with her friend Tomoka.

At first Ryoma thought that it would be a temporary thing. Sakuno was probably just throwing a bit of tantrum, or she just so happened to not want to have sex for a while. But five days had passed and her attitude showed no signs of improvement, and Ryoma was starting to panic. He was already finding it hard to concentrate during training because of this. If this continues, it would be extremely unhealthy for him.

Ryoma slumped on the sofa and slurped on his can of Ponta while he switched on the television to watch the tennis channel. Kevin Smith was playing against some random dude. Not bad, Kevin seemed to have improved a lot. But Ryoma was still very confident that he would defeat him.

The door opened. Ryoma spun around to see an unhappy Sakuno. No way, she's _still_ angry?

"Oh, Sakuno." Ryoma greeted awkwardly.

Sakuno ignored him and went straight to the bath. Ryoma sighed. But he had better let down his pride and beg for forgiveness today, whatever that he did wrong, even though he could not think of anything yet.

He switched off the television and waited outside the bathroom. When Sakuno stepped out of the bathroom, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist from the back and kissed her wet hair.

Sakuno let out a squeal and pushed Ryoma away. "Get off!"

"Come on, Sakuno. What's wrong?" Ryoma said. "You've been ignoring me for five days already."

Sakuno ignored him (again), and went to dry her hair.

Sigh, it's no use. Girls.

"Sakuno." He implored. "Did I do anything wrong?"

Sakuno shot him a glare. Oops, wrong question.

"Okay, I did something wrong, I'm very, very sorry." Ryoma quickly corrected himself. "Please forgive me?" He pleaded. It usually works. Whenever they had a fight, Sakuno would always relent after Ryoma started begging for forgiveness with his puppy eyes.

But it did not work this time. Well, it's as expected. Whatever Ryoma did, it was on a completely new level, according to Sakuno, at least.

"Come beg for forgiveness after you've found out what you've done." Sakuno snapped. "Or what you've _not_ done."

A hint! So it wasn't what Ryoma did, but probably what Ryoma forgot to do. What could it be? Anniversaries? Birthdays? Valentines? Ryoma could not think of any event recently that he had forgotten. He had been as good a boyfriend as he could ever be.

Sakuno started to sleep, and Ryoma climbed onto the bed after her, still clueless as to what his crimes comprised.

"Sakuno, can you just tell me what I've not done?" Ryoma asked, trying to cuddle with Sakuno. "I really can't remember." He added in desperation.

Sakuno sat up suddenly. "So you've never even thought about it?" She asked, her voice full of hurt.

Uh oh. "Thought about what?" Ryoma asked cautiously.

Sakuno turned away sharply, and Ryoma could sense that she was holding back her tears.

Ryoma really started to panic. "I'm sorry! Don't cry, Sakuno. I'm an idiot, you know that right? All that's in my mind is tennis and nothing else. I mean, tennis and you, and nothing else. Really." Ryoma suddenly thought of something. "Did your friend say something about me? Is that it?" After all, she had been like this after meeting with her friend.

"Tomo-chan didn't say anything about you!" Sakuno exclaimed angrily. "She treated me to dinner to tell me that she's going to marry Horio-kun, and we're invited to their wedding next Saturday."

"Oh." Ryoma did not know how to react. "Congratulations to them?" Ryoma still did not know why Sakuno was so upset.

"That's all you've got to say?" Sakuno turned towards Ryoma and said heatedly. "Ryoma-kun, we've been together for seven years, and we started living together for four years! I've already finished school and found a job, and we are already 23 years old. We are old enough already."

Ryoma was starting to get what Sakuno was trying to say.

"Tomo-chan and Horio-kun only got together for two years, and they're getting married! What about us, Ryoma-kun, what about us?"

So Sakuno was angry that they were not married? That was it? "That's why you've been ignoring me?" Ryoma said, exasperated. "Why do you want to marry, anyway? We're as good as married." It was true. They were living together, Sakuno held the masterkeys to all of their houses and apartments, and she even controlled all his bank accounts and managed all his finances. They were as good as married.

That was the last straw, however. In a second, Ryoma was locked out of his penthouse, with nothing but his pajamas on.

"Sakuno!" He banged the door and called out. He looked around and heaved a sigh of relieve when he realized that no one was around. He had better not be caught thrown out of his own house.

He took the lift and went downstairs to where the guards of the condominium were located. He borrowed a phone from them and called the only number that he could remember. Well actually he could remember two numbers, but the other one was his parents' number and that was out of the question.

"…Hello?"

"Momo-sempai."

"Echizen? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?"

"I'm kicked out of my house by Sakuno." He admitted. "So I've got nowhere to go now."

Momoshiro burst into hysteria. "The great Echizen Ryoma kicked out of his house by his girlfriend? HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA"

Ryoma quietly waited for Momoshiro to calm down, annoyed. "Do you want to help me or not?" He said finally.

"Alright, alright, let's meet at the usual place, shall we?"

The usual place was a pub next to the tennis court they always play together at. Even after leaving Seishun Gakuen for so many years, the two of them still met up frequently to play tennis and eat like pigs after, although their matches were becoming more and more one-sided.

They each ordered a drink, and Ryoma started explaining what happened.

"I've received the wedding invitation too." Momoshiro said. "Have you seen them together? They are the noisiest couple ever, I swear."

"No, I'm not that close to them." Ryoma said, uninterested. "Sakuno is, though."

"Why don't you want to marry Sakuno-chan?" Momoshiro asked.

"It's not that I don't want to. I just don't see a need to." Ryoma shrugged as he took a big gulp. "She's practically in control of my life, why does she need to marry?"

Momoshiro shook his head. "Tsk tsk, Echizen, you just don't get it, do you? Marriage may seem like a name to you, but to girls, it's a sign of commitment. A promise of 'I'll love you forever'. Without that, it just seems like you're playing house with her."

"What? She knows I love her." Ryoma said, irritated. He had put in so much effort when courting her to show her just how much she means to him.

"Girls need constant reminders."

Ryoma sighed. "We have sex every day! Until the last five days, of course."

"That's not reminding her that you love her. It's more of you're a sex addict. Geez, I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you." Momoshiro said, frustrated.

"I'm not a sex addict." Ryoma muttered unhappily, although sex with Sakuno was his daily highlight.

"Well, you need to somehow remind her that you love her. After seven years and you still did not propose to her, of course she'll be insecure about what you feel about her." Momoshiro said. "And girls are jealous creatures. She's together with you longer than Tomoka-chan with Horio-kun, but Tomoka-chan is becoming a bride earlier than she is. Every girl wants to be a beautiful bride, Ryoma, you just can't leave her hanging, you just can't."

Ryoma nodded, convinced. If the problem is marriage, it should be easy. He did want to marry Sakuno, anyway. He was just procrastinating. And he thought Sakuno would want to focus on her career for a while more. "Alright, I'll propose to her tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Momoshiro said incredulously. "Echizen, you can't rush such things. You have to wait for the right moment."

"What? I have to wait again?" Ryoma said irately. More days of no sex. Great.

Momoshiro gave a sneaky smile. "You have to plan your proposal properly, you know? After all, Sakuno-chan has been waiting for it for so long, you've got to make it a blast."

Ryoma looked at Momoshiro. "Hn, you're a really good adviser, you know that, Momo-sempai?"

Momoshiro just laughed.

XxXxX

Sakuno looked into the mirror one last time after she applied her makeup. Today was Tomo-chan and Horio-kun's wedding. As their close friend and their matchmaker, Sakuno was elated. She remembered helping Horio-kun hunt for Tomo-chan's birthday present and plan for her birthday surprise. They had indeed come a long way.

"You're so beautiful, Sakuno." Ryoma was standing at the door and gazing at her.

She bit her lips to stop herself smiling and ignored him. She was supposed to still be angry at Ryoma. Honestly, after what she said that night, Ryoma still dared to come back to his house empty handed? And stinking like beer. Boys.

His house. Even though Ryoma had let Sakuno be in charge of all his houses, they were still his, and only his. In fact, everything that they had was Ryoma's. None of them was hers. So what if they were living together?

With that, Sakuno stomped out of the house crossly. Stupid Ryoma. Stupid, stupid Ryoma.

The chauffeur was waiting outside the condominium. Sakuno got into the car with Ryoma following closely behind.

Ryoma was still trying his very best to make up with her. No matter how much Sakuno pushed his hands away, they were still able to wrap themselves tightly around her waist. She gave up soon after, and just looked away. She could feel Ryoma landing kisses on her head. He had better not mess up her hair. She had spent an hour styling it.

When they reached the hotel, Sakuno took a deep breath and tried to clear away all her unhappy thoughts. Today was Tomo-chan and Horio-kun's wedding. She had to be happy for them. She grabbed Ryoma's arm and gave her sweetest smile.

Ryoma was obviously happy with her initiative and held on to her hands tightly.

She gave him a sharp look. "Don't be too happy. I'm just doing this for Tomo-chan and Horio-kun." She whispered.

Ryoma just gave her a peck on her lips cheekily. Stupid Ryoma. He was merely making use of this situation.

There were many familiar faces in the wedding. That was for sure, as Tomoka and Sakuno had been classmates and best friends for many years, and their circle of friends were similar. Horio and Ryoma had been in the same class and club for three years, so in a way this wedding was like a reunion for the two of them. It was also great to see all the seniors from the Tennis Club in Seishun Gakuen.

Ryoma was very popular, and he was soon pulled to different groups of people, however unwilling he was to leave Sakuno's side.

Finally, it was time for the wedding. Sakuno watched excitedly as Tomoka walked down the aisle. She was so beautiful in her wedding gown that Sakuno could cry. In fact, when both of them said their vows, Sakuno burst into tears, and she had to go to the toilet to touch up her makeup after that.

When Sakuno was in the cubicle, a group of girls came into the toilet.

"Did you see Echizen Ryoma?" One of them chirped.

"Yeah, he's _so_ hot." Another one replied. These girls did not sound familiar so Sakuno presumed that they were probably Horio's friends or something.

"But his girlfriend is so annoying."

Sakuno frowned and started to listen more attentively.

"She's not even that pretty, but Echizen Ryoma is fawning all over her."

Sakuno could not help but smile. Ryoma was indeed madly in love with her. The things he would do when he was courting her were so crazy and foolish. And ever since she had decided to ignore him, he literally spent every second with her trying to cuddle and pleading for her forgiveness. Sakuno was really the luckiest girl alive.

"I doubt that he's really in love with her."

Wait, what?

"I've heard that they've been living together for four years and Echizen Ryoma still did not want to marry her. He's probably playing with her, and kept her for the sex."

"Haha, typical. Have you seen how he keeps staring at her boobs?"

"I bet she had purposely worn low cut to remind Echizen Ryoma of the sex they're going to have tonight."

"Hahaha! What a slut."

Sakuno waited for the girls to leave the toilet. She spent half an hour calming herself down and fighting back her tears. Those girls just spoke what she had feared for so long. That Ryoma being with her was just playing with her. After all, for so many years, the only threat she had for Ryoma was 'no sex tonight'. They hardly talk anymore since they were both busy, and sometimes Ryoma came back home late smelling like beer and perfume. And Ryoma had refused to marry.

"_Why do you want to marry, anyway?"_ As if it was redundant to be married. As if it was stupid to want Ryoma to be committed to this relationship.

Sakuno walked out of the toilet, feeling slightly faint.

"Sakuno." Ryoma came to her. "Are you alright? You've been in the toilet for almost an hour!"

Sakuno looked at Ryoma. Ryoma was looking at her, but occasionally he was glancing downwards. Sakuno followed his glance. Her boobs. He was looking at her boobs. "What are you looking at?" She asked, her voice weak but angry.

"Huh?" Ryoma frowned. "Oh…oh! I was looking at your necklace!" He added, slightly flustered. "It's really nice."

The necklace? "You bought the necklace for me, remember? For Valentines' two years ago?"

"I did? Oh." Ryoma said, looking confused. He must not have remembered. How could he? He was probably just treating his gifts as a way to trick her into believing that he loved her.

"I hate you." Sakuno said as she started to walk out of the wedding. Sorry, Tomo-chan and Horio-kun.

"Sakuno?" Ryoma said frantically. "Sakuno, where are you going?"

She reached the door. "Sakuno, wait!" Ryoma pulled her, but she pushed open the door anyway.

Outside the room, stood a large board, with flowers arranging to the words: I LOVE YOU, SAKUNO.

She stood at the door and stared at the words. "W…What?"

"You're not supposed to see this until _after_ the wedding." Ryoma sighed. "But since you've seen it already…"

Sakuno's eyes grew in consternation as Ryoma got down on one knee and took out a ring from his pocket.

Before Sakuno could react, the lights around her dimmed, and a spotlight shone on her and Ryoma.

"Sakuno, I really, really love you." Ryoma said. "I may be an idiot and a jerk sometimes, but I promise I will treat you right for the rest of my life. Will you marry me and become the next beautiful bride?"

No way, Ryoma was actually proposing? Sakuno could not believe her eyes. She had thought Ryoma did not want to marry. All the tears that she was trying to fight back were suddenly released, as Sakuno could not stop sobbing. "You idiot…" She said in between sobs. "You're not playing with my feelings, are you?"

"Of course not!" Ryoma said. "I love you." He took her hand and gently slid the ring onto her middle finger. "And I really want you as my wife. Will you marry me?" He asked again.

Idiot, how could she say no if he had already made her wear the ring? "Yes." Sakuno nodded, her tears still flowing. "Yes!"

Everybody in the room clapped and cheered as Ryoma stood up and gave Sakuno a long kiss. She had forgotten how good Ryoma's kiss tasted.

"Congratulations, Sakuno!" Tomoka said as she approached the two of them.

"I'm so sorry to have interrupted your wedding." Ryoma apologized. "I wanted it to be at the end of the wedding but Sakuno seemed to be really upset about something."

"Nah, it's alright!" Tomoka laughed. "Sakuno must have been waiting for this since forever, it's good that the plan has been pushed forward."

Sakuno looked at Ryoma. "You've been planning this?"

Ryoma smiled. "Of course! How could I not, when my beloved girlfriend had yearned for this for so long?"

So she had wronged Ryoma all these while? "I'm sorry that I gave you the cold shoulder for so long." Sakuno said, hugging him.

Ryoma gave her another kiss. "Mada mada dane."

Momoshiro broke them apart. "Stop it, you lovebirds! Come on, we haven't taken a photo yet."

"Give me a break, I haven't kissed Sakuno properly for more than a week." Ryoma grumbled.

"Shut up, you have nothing to complain if you're getting the sex tonight." He said loudly as he slapped Ryoma in the back. Sakuno had never seen Ryoma this embarrassed before.

Ryoma leaned towards her and whispered. "Are you alright?" He asked. He was still worried about her.

Sakuno remembered her insecurities and the conversation in the toilet. With such a showy display of love and a sincere marriage proposal, Sakuno felt more loved than ever, and she was no longer troubled by Ryoma's apparent emphasis on sex. She gave Ryoma a great big beam as she assured him. "I'm okay."

Ryoma was lost in her gaze for a moment, and then reached out for another kiss before they had to arrange themselves for a photo. She was really the luckiest girl alive. Ryoma deserved a reward tonight: sex for the entire night. And day, if he wanted.

**XxXxX**

**That's the end! I hope it's not too rushed. Hope you enjoyed :) Reviews, please. If I feel like it I might add another chapter of how Ryoma courted Sakuno. But I'm not very good with commitments so don't expect too much LOL**


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